edited 12/30/10
3
'Tonight, my Death Angel… we strike again.' Leaving the woman's mind, the Lich King commanded for all his precious knights to hear. A cruel smirk tilted and cracked his lips, figure glowing, along with white clouds faintly issuing from his entire body. The Lich King had plans, and he would follow them to the very end. Not even death would keep him from completing his goal. 'Tonight… tonight we bring fear into our enemies' hearts, and we make them regret ever leaving us behind. Tonight, my Knights, we dine in a feast of terror! Tonight… they fall.' He cast a glance down towards the plateau, clear disdain for the humans living down below, shamelessly frolicking about and wasting their time with the seconds left of their pitiful lives were ticking away.
Veiled by sorcerer's trickery and magic, a light fog rolled over the battalion, set up in an organized formation, tents angled respectfully to the Lich King's domain, where he sat high atop a regal throne and gazed down at the valley and the troops. He was there to watch the bloody array. Bloodshed brought him sickening glee, and he was there to enforce the fleeting amass of terror. This was The Mist, small but growing. He would crush their numbers mercilessly, and leave the weakest Shinobi alive to tell the frightening tale. He uttered a cold, cruel laugh, casting his gaze over the frozen land before him, mist swirling about tents and horses, all the wildlife before them caked with ice.
The King had brought the winter with him. It was a curse bestowed upon him by his lover, while she betrayed him and became entwined with the Holy Light. The temperature dropped by 50 degrees as he thought of her, cracking the ground below their feet; but the knights did not notice. They were already dead, what was there to feel? With a quick glance at the sky, he estimated about 8-9 hours until dawn. The New Day. It was when they would attack. It signified more than a new day, a beginning, and a rebirth. It announced to the world that his Reign of Terror had only just begun.
Sasuke took a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out. His eyes fell on the battered and bruised headbands currently glinting dully on the desk. Piercing blue eyes regarded his expression, and he felt a sense of relief when the chair was scraped back and Naruto made to leave the room.
"When I come back tonight, I expect to see your answer. Either take one or none. Swear your loyalty to us with these, Sasuke. Whatever you choose, I hope we can still be allies." And with that, the Rokudaime was gone.
His fingers stretched out and strained towards the crimson-swathed headband upon the table, but just as the tips of fingertips were about to graze it, he stopped. A wave of overwhelming emotion crashed into him. Obsidian lingered upon faded cloth.
Blue or Red. He bit his lip, eyes tracing over the scratch through the leaf symbol. Passing over the tear in the crimson cloth. It was quite a difficult decision to make. He ached to claim the part of Sakura, and he fought with himself, yearning to do nothing else than take the object and flee, content to huddle in a corner all his life it meant having the last part of her. Pale fingers greedily molded over the cool metal, thumb rubbing over leaf symbol. He closed his eyes, inhaling the faded scent of the blossom. Tears pooled in his eyes, but he did nothing to wipe them away. He was alone. He slipped the crimson cloth over his head and tied it tightly, hesitating before snatching the blue one also and tucking it carefully into his pocket. Eyes flickered to the shadows dancing on the wall, and he disappeared.
Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, grimly awaiting the answer. Painfully slowly, he made his way to the desk, eyes closed and teeth drawing blood on his lower lip. At last, the final moment of truth—he smiled. The guards were perplexed, but Naruto was beside himself with relief. The desk was wiped clean of both headbands, and to Naruto, it meant more than anything. With a soft smile, he surprised the guards by telling them to go home to their families, heading downstairs himself.
His wife hummed softly, gracefully maneuvering around the kitchen despite the extra weight, blue-black tresses swaying and moving with her in harmony, her eyes cast at the soup currently sitting upon the stove. With a gentle smile, he settled his arms carefully around her belly, large, tan hands splayed out across the fabric, feeling the bulge in her abdomen. Their child. A light blush adorned her face as she glanced down at the loving hands, connected to their equally loving master, the Rokudaime. She pivoted, grabbing two bowls and pouring soup into them. She headed to the table, pale eyes roving over the steaming liquid. Her blond haired husband flitted to the cupboard, filling the glasses up with water. He smiled at her once more, pausing to kiss her swiftly upon her brow before exiting the kitchen. A soft smile adorned her lips, and she followed her husband out, carrying chopsticks and spoons.
"Hinata-chan…" he trailed off, gazing at her mournfully.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" she peered at him, anxious.
"…What would you do if your best friend lost the one person he cared about? How would you help him heal? Would you find him another or would you let him commit suicide?" Sorrowed azure gazed into pale lavender, and her gaze softened. She grabbed his hands, rubbing soothing circles on his warm skin before speaking.
"Naruto… I don't know… if only we could find a way to bring Sakura-chan back…" she sighed. "I know Sasuke-san refuses to take another, and I know he never will until the day he dies. From thereon he can peacefully join Sakura-chan in heaven… but the Uchiha Clan will never be restored… he'll have to find someone who will agree to a loveless marriage, be married to a man who is an extremely good friend, have kids, and when death does them part, they will go their separate, respective ways." Naruto said nothing, eyes swimming with tears.
"I can't believe I let Sakura die…" he murmured.
"Naruto," she reprimanded strongly, suddenly furious orbs setting him on fire, "you CAN'T blame yourself or anyone else for Sakura-san's death, not even Sakura-san herself or you. Naruto, listen to me. Her death… her death was unavoidable, unpreventable. Maybe it wasn't, but it wasn't in your power to correct. It was in Akatsuki's. And look what happened now. They're dead and gone, a lost organization. Look at Konoha. Sakura-chan helped us better our world, and although we strongly wish she hadn't gone, she's helped us. Naruto, grieving for her like this—blaming yourself isn't helping her rest peacefully." He brought his head up, eyes swimming with tears and gratitude. Hinata blushed darkly after her moment of boldness, and she opened her mouth to apologize when Naruto beat her do it.
"Hinata… thank you. I'm sorry. So sorry…" he breathed, throwing his arms around her and burrowing blond head into her shoulder. They held on for immeasurable minutes, letting the food go cold and untouched upon the table.
She lifted her head, eyes cast upon the plain before her, roiling with fog and the tears the sky cried, trying in vain to warn the unsuspecting villagers below. Beside her lay their esteemed King, whispering words of encouragement to his soldiers; his playthings. He was merely humoring them until they finally cracked, and when they were of no use to him any longer, he disposed of them in battle. But he was not purposely seeking out their destruction. He cared to some small extent for his faithful knights, and admired their perseverance and dedication to his cause. However, he did not hold onto pitiful emotional attachments like the fruitless Hokage did, causing their village to fall into ruin or them unto their deaths themselves. He merely ended their sufferings before they could cause destruction or fall into complete, irrevocable ruin. This he saw as saving their souls. A small deed he deemed to repay an insignificant part of his sins. Not that he cared, anyway. He was condemned and damned from the start, and since there was nothing to pull him from his unfortunate fate, he saw no reason in sitting by and wallowing in his misery, trying in vain to redeem himself.
After all, he thought, if you were already damned, why not have as much fun while you were still alive? Not alive in the flesh, but still roaming Earth bodily and spiritually; together combined. He would continue his reign of terror and insanity until he was unable to exist on earth, disregarding whether if he would only be a lingering head. He would hang on with every fiber of his being, determined to raise hell, to corrupt the world even further, to show Heaven that people were simply irretrievable and the innocent ones could be far more evil and corrupt than the worst villains themselves.
He turned his gaze to the woman at his side, hardened orbs glowing, winter rising from her lips, and soul already sold to the devil to help him in his conquest to raise as much hell as possible. He smirked; he was going to drag down everyone he could in his quest for utter dominance, and even if he did fall, he would have succeeded in corrupting good people beyond salvation.
He was not only cold and ruthless, he was woven together of brilliance. He was a prodigy, a genius. He found loopholes through everything and crushed everyone and everything in his path, whether or not they were family, enemy, or innocents. He was the Lich King, and he was beyond any sort of redemption. A leer curled frozen, stiff lips and he devoted his attentions once more to the downfall of the village before him and his subordinates.
Sasuke readied himself beside the group of sound Shinobi he'd managed to summon up, and although it wasn't small, it was insignificant compared to Konoha's vast array of intelligent ninja. He'd roused the old members of Hawk; Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu. Together they would aid in Konoha in shooting down their formidable enemy, no matter what it took, and no matter if they held previous grudges or were enemies. They needed all the help they could get, and everyone would have to stand unified if they wished to defeat the Lich King, life-long enemies or not.
Yes, Jaina Proudmoore was the Lich King's lover.
I managed to keep some of the original lore in with this one!